Fall (Weekly Writing Prompt)
by UberNerd121
Summary: Prompt from the group Fanfiction-Friends on deviantART. Fletcher takes Toby out to learn about the seasons.


A knock on the door jarred Toby from sleep mode. His optics opened against the morning light, though his father's silhouette quickly swallowed his frame of vision. Fletcher stood tall, grinning broadly, radiating more excitement than Toby was prepared to handle as his systems dragged online. He turned over and pulled the comforter above his head in a last-ditch effort to escape the day.

"Nice try, kid, but I can still see your blond mop. Time to get up!" Fletcher chimed. Toby burrowed farther into the sheets at the sound of the curtains swishing open. "I have a great lesson planned!"

"What is it?" Toby mumbled.

"We're going on a field trip today... try to guess where!" Fletcher prompted.

Toby rolled onto his back and sat up enough to breach the blankets. Fletcher was in his closet, picking out his clothes. Toby tried rubbed heaviness out of his eyes with the backs of his fists. "Um... are we just going in the gardens and calling it a field trip again?"

Fletcher laughed, "No."

"The... lake?"

"We'll be close to the lake, but... think of someplace where you have to buy tickets for admittance."

"Admittance?"

"Yes, where you have to buy tickets for people to let you in. You show people your tickets and they'll admit you into the park."

"...So we're going to a park?"

Fletcher stopped shuffling through Toby's clothes and narrowed his eyeforms. "Alright, that one was on me." He pulled a jacket off of its hanger. "But can you guess _which_ park we're going to?"

"Come on, just tell me!"

"Okay, if you give up! We're going to the wild animal reserve on the other side of the lake. Today, we're going to learn about the seasons."

~~~

The wild animal park covered an area of almost five square miles around the base of the retired _Axiom_. In the nearly 230 years since humanity returned to Earth, Operation: Repopulate had been a huge success. Every Bn'L starliner held the preserved DNA of countless lifeforms and the proper equipment to clone them, but it was fifty years before environmental conditions were suitably survivable for large mammals and fish. Insects and other bugs were the first to be reintroduced, and with the pollen carriers came a steady rise of wild fruit and flower bearing plants. Life spread from the colonies, took root in the dirt, decreased the dust storms, and let humans stay outside to work on cleanup and building projects for longer amounts of time. Soon, water treatment plants made progress in removing impurities and aquatic plant life became sustainable. After that, the food web was filled from the bottom up.

The return of life did wonders for the stabilization of Earth's atmosphere, and it was only after all of this had taken place that the four seasons became regular, recognizable phenomena.

Fletcher explained this to his son as they walked up the brick road leading to the park's main gate. Fletcher wore a warm colored plaid jacket over a dark shirt and slacks, while Toby sported the navy sweatshirt and cargo pants his father picked out for him.

They came up to the gate, Fletcher showed the attendant his tickets, and they walked through the turnstile. The park's entrance was a round plaza paved with bricks, surrounded by a massive gift shop, a few restaurants, the building for the cart rides through the habitats, the station for the sky tram, and several walking paths that lead into viewing areas. Since it was early in the day during the middle of the week, the crowds were thin, just as Fletcher had hoped. He took Toby's hand and led him toward a heavily wooded, totally empty path.

Toby trotted along, taking two steps for each one of his father's, looking into the tunnel of trees before them. Above the path hung a sign that read "Deciduous."

"Dad? What's 'de-kid-dyoo-us?'"

"That's ' _deciduous_ ,' buddy. Trees that drop their leaves every year are deciduous. Look around..."

The wrought-iron fence on either side of the trail extended over their heads to create a tunnel of arches, separating the patrons from the exhibit, though the gaps were wide enough to allow for a clear view. Trees stood tall over the underbrush, and distant clusters and thickets harbored the last of the morning mist in their cool shadows. Grass grew wherever enough light fell through the branches, but most of the ground was covered in bristly shrubs and carpeted with fallen leaves.

"We're coming into the best time of year, Toby. Everything's turning crisp and golden, the crops are all ripe for harvesting... oh, look ahead!" Fletcher pointed down the trail. The branches of a large tree hung over the arches, dropping huge, papery leaves onto the pavement. "Oh, this is one of my favorite parts!"

Fletcher brought his foot down on one of the leaves with a satisfying _crunch_. Toby's eyes widened. He let go of Fletcher's hand and crushed a leaf under his own shoe. Fletcher nodded at him, lighting up with a smile. Toby ran with his encouragement and hopped from leaf to leaf, squealing with glee as Fletcher started to do the same. They stomped, jumped, and flattened every leaf they could find, until Toby got so excited that he just ran in circles, kicking up a storm of dust and leaf bits. Laughing, Fletcher scooped the little hybrid up and swung him into the air.

"Come on, if we keep up all this noise, we won't see any animals!"

"You _started_ it!" Toby giggled.

"Yeah, yeah," Fletcher lifted Toby onto his shoulders and held his ankles. Toby crossed his arms on top of his father's head for balance. "We still have a lot of ground to cover, so let's save some of that energy! There's an oak grove ahead. If we're lucky, we should see some of the animals out collecting acorns ‒ if you haven't scared them all off."

"Hee-eey..."


End file.
